Suppose That the Cost of Installing an Overhead Pedestrian Walkway

question 69

Multiple Choice

Suppose that the cost of installing an overhead pedestrian walkway in a college town is $150,000. The walkway is expected to reduce the risk of fatality by 1.5 percent, and the cost of a human life is estimated at $10 million. The town should

• A)install the walkway because the estimated benefit is twice the cost.
• B)be indifferent between installing and not installing the walkway because the estimated benefit equals the cost.
• C)not install the walkway, since the cost is twice the estimated benefit.
• D)install the walkway, since the cost of even a single life is too great not to take action.

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Definitions:

Variable Labor Input

Labor whose usage level can be changed in the short term to match the level of output production.

Lowest Cost Level

The point at which a business can produce its goods or services at the minimum possible cost.

Average Total

The sum of all the costs of production (fixed and variable) divided by the total quantity produced; often referred to as average total cost.

Marginal Cost Curve

A graphical representation showing how the marginal cost varies with the quantity of output produced, typically U-shaped due to economies and diseconomies of scale.